EPISD Board approves TEA waiver to continue virtual learning
(EL PASO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT -- Oct. 20, 2020) — The EPISD Board of Trustees today approved the two-week waiver from the Texas Education Agency that extends full virtual learning for all EPISD students.
Under the approved plan, in-person instruction for those students whose parents opted for that option would resume starting on Friday, Nov. 6, for identified students in special-education programs, grades pre-kinder through second, as well as sixth-graders and high-school freshmen. All remaining students who opted for in-person instruction would return to campus the week of Nov. 9.
You can see the full reopening timeline here.
Students whose parents opted to remain at home to learn using the EPISD@Home program, will remain learning virtually until further notice.
“We are all anxious to get back to some sense of normalcy and campus life. However, our main focus at this time must be the health and safety of not only our students and staff, but also the El Paso community,” said Superintendent Juan E. Cabrera. “As the largest school district and largest civilian employer in the region, we bear a great responsibility in helping our community slow the spread of COVID-19. We must all do our part in keeping one another safe.”
EPISD and TEA will continue to monitor health conditions in the region to determine the safety of reopening schools given the positivity rates in El Paso County. The Board on Tuesday approved any potential additional weeks of virtual-instruction waivers the TEA may grant past the Nov. 9 timeline.